Murray, Ky.- The Tennessee State volleyball team’s (16-14) post-season run was cut short on Friday night, as the Tigers suffered a 3-0 loss to top-seeded Murray State (27-2).

With the set tied at five, the Racers would use an 8-1 run to take an early 13-7 lead over the Tigers. Murray State would remain in the lead for remainder of the set, keeping TSU to a .061 attack percentage while hitting .268, to give the Tigers their first loss of the night, 25-16.

Down 13-10 in the second, the Tigers fought back with a 3-1 run to tie things up at 14. TSU would tie things up with Murray three more times before a block and kill from freshman Ayanna Chase would give the Tigers their first lead of the match (20-19). The teams would go back and forth, alternating leads, before three back-to-back kills from the Racers would seal a 30-28 wire-to-wire second set loss for the Tigers.

The third set was a back-and-forth affair with the Tigers leading 13-12 after a block from freshman Zahria Graham and senior Haley Hampton. A 5-2 run highlighted by back-to-back kills from Hampton would extend the Tiger lead 17-14. The Racers would take back their lead with three consecutive kills and a block to make the score 19-18. The Tigers took a 20-19 lead momentarily after two Racer errors, but a 6-2 run from Murray State would put an end to the Tigers’ post-season run with a 25-22 fifth-set score.

The Tigers hit .102 through three sets. Senior Haley Hampton led the team with eight kills, three digs and five blocks. Junior Chloe Watson also notched eight kills on the night, with eight digs and three blocks.

Sophomore Samantha Beltran led the team with a .333 attack percentage with two kills on six attempts. The setter posted a team-high of 28 assists and recorded three digs.

Defensively at the net, Ayanna Chase led with seven total blocks followed by freshman Zahria Graham with six. In the back, senior Madison Halterman led with 17 digs on the night.

“That was a championship match and everyone in that gym knew it,” said head coach Kathy Bullock. “Overall, I’m very proud of the way we performed this year.”

Seniors Madison Halterman and Haley Hampton both finished their final season as Tigers, but have left their mark in the record books.

Halterman finished the season with 581 digs, which ranks first all-time in TSU’s single-season records. For her career, Madison tallied 796 total digs, ranking her 13th all-time in TSU’s career records.

Hampton finished her 2015 season with a .281 attack percentage, which ranks sixth all-time in single-season records. Posting 91 total blocks this season, Hampton ties former Tiger Diane Gomez for the 10th place spot with 91 total blocks and ranks eighth all-time in single-season records with 87 block assists. She has 559 kills for her career, ranking her 13th all-time in TSU’s career records. For her career, Haley finishes with a .266 overall attack percentage, which ties for first with former player and current coach Vicmari Prospero.

“This team got a taste for what the tournament feels like,” said Bullock. “All that we can do is hold onto that feeling and come out next year and perform.”